So, I commute every day, not far, only about 7km each direction, so I don't kit up or anything; I just wear casual clothing. And I've gone through about 5 pairs of jeans in the last 2 years.

I invested in a pair of Levi's commuter series jeans (511), with the reinforced seat, double stitched seams, slightly stretchy material, reflective band on the inside of the outseam, nanobloddywhateveryoucallit technology, etc., and have been riding in them for 6 months, and just noticed the other day there's a hole developing on the seam of the reinforced seat, halfway down the inseam of my thigh. Short of sewing a patch of kevlar into the crotch of all of my pants, I'd like to find something a bit better.

Please, fellow commuters, point me in the direction of your favourite casual cycling pants. I don't care if they're slightly more expensive if they last longer than a year.

Ground Effect Ranchsliders. I rotate two pairs and have got the best part of three years from them. Only now is the stitching on the stretch lumbar panel of one of them starting to go, the others are still rock solid.

...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.London Boy 29/12/2011

Stepping away from your "casual" requirement, but I find trousers to be much better for riding than jeans - and far more durable.

I also do my 6km each way commute in my work clothes.

I used to wear cotton/canvas "chino" style pants to work. They would wear through at the saddle.

Then I stepped up in the fashion stakes and started wearing more tailored-style trousers. Not only are they a less restrictive fit, being not so tight around the bum and thigh, but they also last a whole lot longer. Especially if they have some wool in the cloth. Wool blend is awesome bike-wear. Durable, temperature regulating, and quick drying, so unlike jeans or other cotton, if I get rained on without overpants, I'm not still sitting in soggy pants by lunch time. They also hold an ironed crease, so I only iron them once a year if they're lucky. I had two pairs of poly/wool black pinstripe trousers that I got off the throw-out rack at Dimmeys for $8/pair, and they gave in excess of two years daily service before retirement (because they were starting to look a bit shabby all 'round... they were getting thin at the crutch but hadn't worn through).

So, I have no idea what you do for a crust or what the dress code is, but if it would be appropriate for you to wear dressier trousers at work, I'd go there.

I've given up on jeans for casual fridays too - I just dress-down a pair of trousers with a T-shirt. It works.

Wool, interesting. I would have thought Denim would be more likely to last, but happy to be proved wrong. I don't wear suits. Mostly jeans or other cotton pants. I'll look into the poly/wool idea though.

Just had a thought; it could be my saddle. All the hols are appearing in roughly the same spot and it could be down to rub against the underside of my saddle. Does anyone have an opinion on that? Perhaps I should invest in a quality saddle for once in my life, like a rolls.